I never cease to get a sense of excitement from opening newly-accessioned files for the first time. Occasionally, documents released to The National Archives will fundamentally change our view of history, but more often, they add colour and fill in the blanks to events and personalities with which we're already familiar.
Today's release of almost 500 files from the Foreign Office's Permanent Under-Secretary's Department (PUSD) is a good case in point. Among the papers, is an extraordinarily entertaining account of ‘Operation Bracelet', Winston Churchill's August 1942 mission to Moscow and first face-to-face meeting with Stalin.
Read Full Article »